Developing best information management practices for business results
Paul M. Durgin
Principal Consultant
EMA Services, Inc.
1760 East River Road, Suite 301
Tucson, AZ 85718-5877
David P. DiSera
GIS Services Manager
EMA Services, Inc.
1970 Oakcrest Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55113
Information as a strategic resource
In the world of water and wastewater utilities, change is constant. The nature of the water and
wastewater core business is much the same as it has been for many years. On the other hand,
the rate of change is accelerating, particularly among those organizations that feel competitive
pressures.
This wave of organizational change is different in at least three ways: First, it is being externally
driven. Changes in the environment in which they operate are forcing significant changes in
water/wastewater organizations, instead of changes originating from within the organizations
themselves. Second, changes are arising in response to, or anticipation of, "life-threatening"
business issues as opposed to scheduled changes based on a detailed, goal-oriented
implementation plan. For example, faced with threats of privatization or contract operation,
many water/wastewater utilities are already fighting for their existence as public agencies; others
will soon be doing the same. Third, the changes being made are big. They affect entire
organizations, not just parts or subsystems, fimdarnentally altering what these organizations are
and how they do business. Change of this magnitude is variously called strategic, large-scale,
discontinuous, or transformational change. It is always very difficult to accomplish
successfully.
Part of the process of effecting organizational change and enhanced business practices is
developing a recognition that information in and of itself is a resource. The value of an
information resource increases as it is made more accessible, in real time, to users in the
1Nadler,D. A.,& Shaw,R. B. (1995). Change Leadership: Core Competency for the Twenty-First Century. In
Nadler,D. A., Shaw,R. B.,& Walton,E. (Eds.). DiscontinuousChange. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass.
organization. Its value diminishes as time passes between when the information should be
available, and when users actually access it.
Too often, water and wastewater organizations forget that their business consists of three
component parts: organization, practices and technology. Each of these components must mesh
in order to support the most effective use of financial and human resources.
Technology does not consist entirely of bytes and black boxes. In fact, technology planning and
implementation should consider at least the following three areas:
-
People and process
-
Information technology
-
Data.
People and process focuses on the structural organization that is in place to support day-to-day
operations including staff, training, and skill sets of the people performing the work. Information
technology is the means of organizing, managing, transporting and analyzing data to support a
particular business activity. Data is the collection of raw stored measurements or values that are
used by the technology, processes, and people. Failing to integrate each of these factors
effectively means-at a minimum-a loss of productivity and investments falling short of
expectations.
Figure 1: The Intemated Information Environment
As Figure 1 suggests, corporate vision is articulated through mandates which define the corporate
culture of the organization, standards that are employed within the organization, and the data
environment which provides access to corporate data assets. The corporate culture defines
process and people issues such as responsiveness to change, risk aversion, and skill set
enhancement. Through an ongoing iterative process it identifies the organization's structure,
approach to practices, empowerment of employees and ability to support and make positive
changes.
